A Hokage's Burden
by Fadedinthelight
Summary: This is a series i have written to cover the post-Akuta arc from the anime. Unlike the original Boruto series, this focuses more on Naruto's daily life and his interactions with others and his duties. The peaceful theme, however, does not last long when the village comes under attack at a most inopportune time...
1. Mentor and Pupil

Author's note: This is actually the _**Second** chapter _of a series i originally started during the Akuta arc. Events prior to this chapter focused on how that arc developed and eventually ended, however, so as to not have the series fall under the "Alternate universe" Category and keep it as close to the canon material as possible i have refrained from including those chapters. It's worth noting that my version of the story ended up not being far from what the original series' writers had in mind, therefore there should not be much confusion especially as all of these chapters were written to be independent from that arc to begin with. There are only three notes I'd like to mention about my version of the story to avoid confusion regarding the beginning of this chapter:

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

1\. Ohnoki did not die at the end of the Akuta arc and was instead detained by the hidden stone village.

2\. Kurotsuchi returned to the hidden leaf village with Naruto in order to explain recent events to the land of fire's higher-ups.

3\. Mitsuki did not return to the village and disappeared amidst the chaos.

Side note: I write all of these for myself so publishing them depends on your feedback alone! Whether you loved this chapter, hated it, or didn't think much about it please let me know by writing a review!

**Chapter I**

**Mentor and pupil**

"Finally, we're home.", Said a weary Naruto. "You should go to your parents, they'll be relieved to see you.", he told the children.

And with that each of the battered group slugged his way home, tired and beaten from the trip. "Nanadaime!", Sarada called out as Naruto and Kurotsuchi headed to the kage hall.

"Huh?", Naruto turned.

"Please, let me wash your mantle and return it to you.", she said.

"Oh, it's alright Sarada, don't worry about it.", said Naruto.

"Please. I'll return it to you tomorrow better than new."

Naruto looked over at Kurotsuchi. She shrugged. He took off his cloak and handed it to Sarada. "Thanks.", he said awkwardly.

"Thank you, Naruto-sama!", Sarada replied joyfully, running off.

"...Naruto-sama?" Naruto whispered to himself in amusement.

"She wants to play hokage, I imagine." Kurotsuchi said, cracking a smile.

"Well, anyway, let's be off. We've got a lot to do." Naruto replied.

And so they made their way to the hokage's hall. On the way everyone dropped what they were doing and looked at them, bowing and whispering among themselves. "It's Naruto-sama! And Lady Tsuchikage is with him too! I wonder what it's about." , "Oh two kage in one day! That's not something you see often!" , "Show Naruto-sama respect boy. Bow!" were among the remarks. They quickened their pace. As soon as they entered the hall they could hear Shikamaru scolding his son. "Do you have any idea how much your mother has nagged at me all this time, saying you've taken after me? And you almost started a war. Go apologize to your mother, right now. We'll talk about the rest later."

They continued to the hokage's room where the elders were waiting. They entered the room and Kakashi and Tsunade were there aswell. "You're back, Naruto.", Tsunade said. "And it seems you brought the children with you.", Kakashi continued.

"And the lady Tsuchikage aswell.", Naruto said, as Kurotsuchi entered the room. Everyone gave her a polite greeting.

"I'm sorry for everything that's happened. I should have acted sooner before it escalated.", She said.

"Kurotsuchi-sama, Jonin have died, children have been kidnapped, including the hokage's own son. Wars have been waged over much less. What is the meaning of this?", asked one of the elders.

"The late Tsuchikage wanted to create soldiers from the earth for the alliance. He called them Akuta. But when he first demonstrated them to me, he could not control them and they..", the Tsuchikage continued and explained everything to them, sparing no details.

"I see.", one of the elders replied. "Ohnoki, where is he now?", the other asked.

"He's been detained and is under our custody. He will answer to our people for what he's done; then, if you wish, to yours.", Kurotschi replied.

"This turned out to be quite a problem.", Said Tsunade.

" So what will we do now?", asked Kakashi. Naruto remained silent and looked at the elders.

"We'd like Ohnoki to be brought to the hidden leaf village at earnest. Is that possible, Lady Tsuchikage?", Asked one of the elders.

"Very well, I'll see to it as soon as he is ready to make the trip.", she replied.

"That will be all then, thank you, lady Tsuchikage. If it's alright, we would like to have a word with Naruto.", Said another of the elders.

"I'll escort you.", said Kakashi, standing up and leading Kurotschi outside. "Be careful." He subtly whispered in Naruto's ear as they left.

"Naruto, the shinobi who died were sent to the land of earth by your orders. And all of this started with this Mitsuki, this Orochimaru's brat that you let inside of the village. What do you have to say for yourself?", Demanded one of the elders.

"My, my, here we go again.", Tsunade thought to herself.

Naruto was irritated that this conversation was being brought up again. He thought it was already settled. "Did you expect me to let some wierdos steal our children? Mine, Sakura's, Sasuke's ... Everyone's child was missing! How could i sit and do nothing about it?", he said aggressively.

"Our shinobi had no right to be there in the first place. You threatened this peace as much as Ohnoki did. And as far as i recall the Tsuchikage told you not to send any shinobi to their lands and yet you not only sent a group of _Jonin_, but also one to infiltrate their village! Along with your son! Do you have any idea how dire an offense that is?"

"Konohamaru saved the Tsuchikage's life and with it the village. I don't think she minds. What's your problem anyway? It's not my fault Ohnoki wanted to create a mud army, and i personally went over and put a stop to it. The children are fine and the peace is intact. Can you get off my back already?", Naruto said, venting his rage.

"Poor kid.", Tsunade thought to herself. "Naruto! You're responsible for everyone in the village. An entire group of elite ninja you sent didn't come back. You need to show some responsibility for them."

"I am! But what could i have done? We didn't know the extent of Ohnoki's project and the power of his puppets until then. That's why i sent Jonin, to make sure they would all come back alive. But those puppets surpassed even my expectations... .", Naruto explained.

"Or maybe our shinobi have become weaker." , Said one of the elders.

"And what about Orochimaru's kid? Did you find him?", Said the other.

"No, i could not sense his chakra ever since i entered the land of earth. I'll tell captain Yamato to keep an eye out for him.", Replied Naruto.

"Alright my boy, that's enough. You can leave.", Said one of the elders.

Naruto walked out surprised, steaming, and tired. Shikamaru saw him in the hallway and called out to him. "Hey, Naruto, thanks for bringing Shikadai back. I appreciate it.", He said. "Glad we made it in time," , he replied with a forced smile and continued, " I'm going home. Take care of things for me today too, will you?" "Sure.", Shikamaru replied, noticing Naruto's irritated tone. As Naruto was walking home, he could hear Hinata's voice shouting at Boruto from the street. He opened the door and went inside. "I'm home.", he said, tired. No one heard him. With a slouched back he went to his room and fell asleep then and there and didn't wake up until the next morning.

"Breakfast is ready!" Naruto was woken by Hinata's voice, calling everyone for breakfast. He crawled out of his bed and made his way downstairs, where the others were sitting.

"Goodmorning.", He said. "Good morning!", said Himawari.

"You were really tired when you came back so i didn't want to bother you, Naruto-kun.", said Hinata. Boruto was silent.

"Yeah, thanks!", replied Naruto, energized from being around his family. They sat down and began eating breakfast.

"Aaah it's good to finally be back. I missed your cooking, Hinata!", Naruto said. "I made some extra today since i figured you two would be hungry.", she said with a smile.

"Oooh, you're the best!", Naruto replied, bringing a blush to Hinata's cheek.

Himawari was eating joyfully and Naruto as if he hadn't eaten for days but Boruto was just playing with his food. Naruto noticed and could relate to him perhaps better than anyone. "We'll find Mitsuki, Boruto. I promise.", He said.

"How're we going to do that from here?", Boruto replied with an upset tone.

"Mitsuki is sure to return somewhere he knows, I've contacted everyone watching over all of Orochimaru's bases. He won't slip by them. And I'll even contact the other kage and ask them to inform us if someone enters their village, they're sure to notice if he enters any. We'll know where he is soon but to bring him back, that's between you and Mitsuki and your wills.", he replied. Boruto wasn't sure what to think. "But know this, the elders will cause us problems if he returns to the village, so be ready for that. I doubt he'd receive a warm welcome from them.", Naruto added.

"To hell with the elders. Why don't those geezers just die already?", Boruto replied. Naruto laughed at his response and said, "You're not the first to have wondered!"

The mood was somewhat lightened when Hinata asked, "By the way, where's your mantle, Naruto-kun?"

"Oh! I forgot! Sarada insisted on borrowing it from me and said she'd wash it and return it today. I should drop by Sakura's house and pick it up.", he replied.

"Huh, why would she want to do that?", Boruto wondered.

"Who knows. Anyways, i should get going now. Shikamaru will be waiting for me and I'm already late.", Naruto said as he finished the rest of his breakfast as quickly as he could and took off, bidding everyone farewell.

"Hey, Naruto, you've got work to do.", Shikamaru greeted Naruto by dropping a pile of papers on his desk. And you should visit the families of those jonin too if you find the time. Kurotschi visited them, they'll be expecting you too."

Naruto sighed. "To think so many jonin would fall... Do you think we're getting weaker, Shikamaru?"

"It's to be expected. When there's no war there are few fights. We've been assigning jonin C-ranked missions regularly for a while. Training just isn't the same as fighting for your life, it's a slow evolution.", he replied.

"We have more ninja now than we ever did in the war but fewer jobs. It won't be long before we have fewer shinobi aswell, and those that we do have will be weak...", Naruto said.

"Don't let it get to you too much. We're still around. We'll think of something about it. For now, just get the work done.", Shikamaru said before walking off.

Naruto finished as much of the paperwork as he could, reading through them more. Reports of completed missions, payments received, deliveries. He paid special attention to mission reports. "C-rank,C-rank,D-rank,D-rank,D-rank,D-rank,C-rank...", He sighed as he read through them. One report read, "Cat was stuck on tree. Successfully rescued and returned to owner. No injuries. Rio-Jonin."

"A jonin...sent to recover a cat? We wouldn't even give this mission to gennin. Ugh all of this is making my head spin. I need to take a break.", He looked at his clock, it was 10AM. He thought now would be a good time to pay Sakura and Sarada a visit. "I'm going out for lunch. Look after things for me for a bit, Shikamaru."

As Naruto walked through the streets, smiling at those who politely bowed for him, the thought of the future of shinobi crossed his mind and that without them, the village was left unprotected. He reached Sakura's house and knocked on the door. "Sarada, go open the door, I'm busy.", He could hear Sakura's voice come from inside. "Okay, mom.". She smiled gleefully while opening the door, expecting Naruto. "Welcome, Lord Seventh!", She said. "Hey Sarada. I've come to pick up my cloak.", Naruto replied with a smile. "Ofcourse, lord seventh! I'll go pick it up right away.", she replied as she went inside to fetch the mantle. "Naruto? Is that you? Come inside already!", Sakura called out. "Uh, sure, thanks!", Naruto walked in and closed the door behind him. "Sorry to bother you with the mantle, but Sarada insisted-",

"Don't worry about it, Sarada had a lot of fun wearing it. Thanks for lending it to her." , Sakura interrupted.

"Mom!", Sarada called out from another room in protest. Naruto and Sakura both let out a heartfelt giggle.

"Lunch is almost ready. Do you want to eat with us, Naruto?", Sakura offered out of politeness rather than sincerity.

"Sure!", Naruto replied eagerly, sitting down at the table.

"Geez, you never change, do you?", Sakura pouted. Naruto let out a laugh

As Sarada walked in the dining room with the mantle neatly folded and cleaned. She presented it to Naruto with a bow and said, "Here you are, lord seventh!", "Thanks, you guys.", Naruto replied, donning the mantle and patting Sarada. "Is lord seventh eating lunch with us today, ma?", She asked. "Looks like it.", Sakura replied, jokingly mocking Naruto. Naruto smiled ear to ear and sat at the table like a child. "Ooh, awesome!", Sarada said excitedly as she jumped on the seat next to Naruto's. "You haven't forgotten your promise, have you, lord seventh?", she asked, looking at him eagerly. "Oh, that's right!", replied Naruto in realization. "I'll treat you to ramen tomorrow if i have the time." , He said while nodding. "No, that's not what i-", "I know, i know. I don't break my promises, y'know?", he interrupted, laughing. Sarada was confused. "You remember you promised to tell me about-", "I said i know, y'know?", Naruto tried to laugh it off but Sakura saw through it. Suddenly she froze where she stood for a moment and Naruto noticed and so did Sarada. "Now you've done it.", whispered Naruto to Sarada. Sakura carried on but was obviously upset. She tried to imagine she had filled the role of both parents but whenever Sarada inquired about her father that illusion was broken and Sakura felt like she was not doing all she should. Naruto sighed. "It's natural that she'll want to know about Sasuke, y'know?", he said to Sakura while resting a hand on Sarada's head. Sakura tried to ignore it but it bothered her too much. After a few seconds she dropped the knife she was using and looked over to Sarada and said, "Are you feeling like you're not cared for, Sarada? Do you feel like you need your dad to be here?", with an aggressive tone. Sarada tried to play it off but she was too irritated that she was the one being put on an interrogation seat and barked back, "You know what? Yeah! Yeah i do! You got a problem with that?"

Naruto sat on the side sweating nervously. One Sakura was intimidating enough but two was more than he could handle. "Any minute now they'll snap and jump at me. this is bad!", he thought to himself.

"You know what, this is your fault for always bringing it up, Naruto!", Sakura yelled

"There it is!", He thought to himself, staying silent.

"Yeah! Why don't you give dad a break? He's not your slave, you know?", Yelled Sarada

"Sarada too!", Naruto thought. "I need to get out of here!". He balled himself up in his seat, ready to take a monstrous punch any moment now.

"Well?! lost your tongue? Out with it!", continued Sarada, Shaking Naruto.

"They're venting on me! I shouldn't have stayed with these two!", Naruto was thinking to himself while being shaken violently by Sarada as Sakura looked in anger from the kitchen.

"Well?! TALK!", Sarada said angrily as she took a hand off Naruto's jacket and punched him in the face, throwing him off the chair and on the floor. It was then that her rage faded and she started to remember she was talking to the seventh hokage. "Uh... i think you took it a bit far, Sarada.", Said Sakura. Naruto stayed on the ground, not daring to get back up. Sarada took a deep breath and looked down at Naruto, and her eyes widened in realization at what she had done. "Lord Seventh! I'm sorry! Are you alright?", she panicked, getting down and swiping away Naruto's hand on where she had punched, examining his face. "You're a lot like Sakura. A bit too much, actually." Naruto said jokingly as he stood back on his feet. Sarada rubbed the mark she had left while helping naruto back up and on his seat. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean to, it's j-just i got carried awa-"

"It's alright, I'm used to it." , Naruto replied with appearant emotional trauma, gently swiping away Sarada's hand.

"I'll go get some ice. Stay right here.", Said Sarada worryingly as she ran off to the kitchen.

"It's alright...Really." Naruto mumbled under his breath.

"Alright, lunch is ready! Sarada, help me with this.", Sakura called out

"Yes, mom!", Sarada said. She ran and handed Naruto a packet of ice, placing it on his cheek then ran back to the kitchen and helped Sakura serve the food.

Naruto looked at them setting up the table while holding the ice on his cheek. Sarada looked over to him and said, again, "I'm really, really sorry, Lord seventh.", "You can drop the titles, you know? We're all like family.", Naruto said in pain. Sarada found strange comfort in those words. With a slight smile, she replied, "Okay, Naruto-sama!". She continued to see Naruto as the father figure she was missing.

"Thanks for the meal!", Naruto and Sarada said and dug in. Sakura looked at them both. She had realized how much like Naruto Sarada was ever since she was a child and how comfortable she was whenever she was around him. "Naruto would make a good role model for her.", she thought to herself before smiling and eating with the rest of them.

"Wow, this tastes great, Sakura!", Naruto said with his mouth full.

"Geez, close your mouth when you're eating, idiot.", Sakura replied, pouting. Sarada laughed. It felt like a family lunch, one she had rarely had before and was enjoying now more than anything else in the world.

"Say, now that we're talking about Sasuke, maybe i should tell you something really important about him.", Naruto said. Sarada and Sakura both looked at him with curiosity. "What?", asked Sarada. "Do you know... Who his first kiss was?", Naruto asked mischeviously. "Naruto!", Sakura exclaimed, blushing. Sarada thought it was obvious, looking at her mom. "It was mom, obviously.", She replied, feeling insulted that they thought she couldn't guess such a thing. Naruto shook his head with the smile still frozen on his lips. Sarada's eyes widened in surprise. "It...it wasn't mom? Then... who?", she asked. Naruto gazed at Sarada and put down his chopsticks, freeing his hand. Sarada's gaze fixated on his hand. "Is he going to point at something?", she thought to herself. Then Naruto brought his hand up... and pointed it at himself! Sakura sighed, a hand on her face. It took Sarada a few seconds to process what Naruto meant. He kept looking at his finger to see where he was pointing, then she eventually realized he was pointing at himself. With a big smile on his face! An awkward silence fell over... "... ... eh?"

"Sasuke's first kiss was me!", Naruto said. Sarada thought it was a joke at first, but looked over at Sakura and could tell by her expression that she knew and that was when Sarada realized he was telling the truth. Her face grew red all over and she froze in place, dropping her chopsticks. "WHAAA-", she shouted out. Her voice could be heard in the street and must have turned a few heads. Naruto dropped his smile and picked his chopsticks back up, continuing to eat casually while Sarada was still frozen and blushing crimson red. "It was an accident ofcourse.", he said casually while continuing to eat. Sarada shook her head but still couldn't imagine how such an accident could occur. That was when Naruto asked, "But his second kiss..." , "...Was mom, right?", Said Sarada with a twitching brow. "Nope. Still me.", Naruto said with a childish glee. Sarada laughed slowly and awkwardly, thinking this time it must have been a joke, then she looked over to Sakura and saw she knew about that too. "ARE YOU KIDDING ME!", she snapped, "JUST WHAT IS GOING ON BETWEEN YOU AND MY DAD?!" Naruto grew a bit uneasy this time, slightly intimidated like a child who was taking a prank too far but he decided to push it one last time, "C-can ... you guess the third?" At that point Sarada was convinced that those two had had some sort of affair at some point. She had already guessed that the third must have been Naruto aswell. "Let me guess, that was you too?!", she said, hoping it was someone else this time. "Yep.", replied Naruto. Sarada looked over at Sakura and it seemed like even she was surprised. Sarada had lost her appetite and instead felt like she was going through an identity crisis. "You should ask Sasuke about it. It's a funny story actually, if he tells you. But i doubt he will. And you should keep it to yourself too, y'know.", Naruto said. "So you two didn't actually...", Sarada tried to ask. "No no we're not like that.", replied Naruto shaking his hands, embarrassed by the notion. "These things happen sometimes, y'know?", he added. Sarada was still trying to wrap her head around how those accidents could have happened when Naruto asked, "So is your team taking on any missions today?", Sarada was too lost in thought to hear him. "Sarada?", Naruto called out. "Huh? Oh, yes?", Sarada collected herself. "Are you doing any missions today?", Naruto repeated. "Oh, no. Our team is still disoriented after all that's happened, and there aren't that many jobs anyways.", she replied. "Oh, i see. Yeah, Boruto won't be getting over it any time soon. Keep an eye on him for me, will you? Don't let him do anything rash, like last time. You were lucky, you might not be again, y'know.", He said. "Oh, sure.", Sarada nodded. "Geez, that jester.", Sakura was thinking to herself while finishing her food. "Well, i need to return to the hospital. Can you clean up, Sarada?", "Yes, ma.", she replied. "I need to get back to work too. It was great sitting with you two. Thanks for the meal, Sakura, Sarada.", Naruto said as he got up. They both smiled and nodded back. "Please visit us again, Naruto-sama!", Sarada said. Sakura nodded aswell. She thought it wouldn't be too bad either, She had rarely seen Sarada so happy before. Naruto was heartwarmed by the invitation. "I'll try!", He said. "See ya, Sarada!", Naruto and Sakura said unanimously then looked at eachother in confusion. "Goodbye!", Said Sarada, overjoyed. She watched them leave with Naruto laughing and Sakura ignoring him and silently walking along. She felt like she had a whole family again.

"She really looks up to you, you know.", Sakura said, on the way.

"I want to do my best to look after her, y'know. I'm to blame that she can't see Sasuke as often as she'd like.", Naruto replied.

"It's not your fault, he's doing it because he wants to and you know it.", Sakura said.

"Yeah, you're right. Still, that doesn't change the fact that she feels his absence.", He said.

"It looks like it.", Sakura sighed. "I do my best for her but it's still not enough.", she continued.

"You're as great a mother as anyone could ask for, y'know. It's just that a father is something else.", he replied.

"She's so happy when you're around though. Try to visit her often.", she replied.

"I will."

-II-


	2. Naruto's Woes

_**Chapter II**_

_**Naruto's woes**_

"I just wish i had more time, y'know? With all the work that piles up i rarely see anyone anymore.", Naruto remarked sadly.

"Can't you have your clones do the paperwork for you?", Sakura asked.

"I can't get them to sit and run through all the papers. They always get distracted and run off.", Naruto laughed, scratching his head.

"What do the other kage do? Hasn't anyone thought of a way until now?", Sakura asked.

"I've asked them. Everyone seems to do their own work.", Naruto sighed.

"Well i have to go now. See you Naruto. Goodluck!", Sakura abruptly ended the conversation, obviously not too invested in Naruto's woes. She waved as she split off and ran towards the hospital.

"Yeah, see you.", Naruto said, waving back slowly as he continued walking to his office, Slightly upset that Sakura could care so little.

He opened the door and stared at the pile of papers. Tears began circling in his eyes. Naruto weaved a handsign and created a shadow clone. It looked over at Naruto then at the pile of papers in front of him and began to fidget nervously.

"Please! help me out! I can't do it anymore, y'know!", Naruto pleaded to his shadow clone.

Swallowing saliva in distress the clone walked up to the desk as if by force, sat down and picked up the page on top of the pile and began reading through it strenuously. "No no, don't read through it.", Naruto said, handing it the hokage's seal and pointing at the bottom of the page. "Just press that seal here and move on.", he said. Taking notice how inefficiently paperwork was actually done.

The shadow clone nodded nervously and did as Naruto said before moving on to the next page and doing the same. And again and again. "Good, just keep doing that. I need to go breathe.", Naruto said before walking outside and taking a deep breath. "Man, being the hokage is a pain.", He thought to himself and walked back into his office. The clone had disappeared.

"I thought as much.", He sighed. He created three more clones. They too panicked as soon as they saw the pile of papers. "No no calm down! I don't want you to do these.", he said, waving an arm at them.

"What do you want from us then?", one of the clones asked. Naruto picked up a page from the top of his desk and handed it to the clones. "I want you to visit these addresses and give the families your condolences. They're the families of the jonin that were killed on their last mission. All of their addresses are on the page, split them up between yourselves.", He said. The clones were relieved. They took the page and took off. Naruto sat by his desk and started sorting through all the papers.

The sun fell and he just barely finished his work. He got up from his seat and stretched his back, clearly tired. He picked up his cloak from the rack and left for home. "Another day at the office", he sighed in his mind.

"I'm home!", Naruto said as he took off his shoes, glad to be back with his family at last.

Himawari ran out of the dining room and jumped on Naruto, hugging him tightly. "Welcome home, dad!", she said with briskly youth. Naruto smiled and put Himawari on his shoulders as he walked into the dining room. "Welcome home, dear.", Said Hinata, preparing dinner. Boruto was missing.

"Where's Boruto?", Naruto asked.

"He went out for a walk. He still needs time to cope with everything that's happened.", as Hinata explained, Boruto opened the door and walked in not long after his father.

"I'm home.", he mumbled under his breath in deep dejection.

"Hey Boruto!", Naruto called out as he walked over to him with Himawari on his shoulders and patted him on the head.

"You two go change, dinner's almost ready." Hinata said.

Naruto put Himawari down and went upstairs, washing himself in the shower and putting on his pajamas.

As they began eating, Boruto broke the question, "Any word of Mitsuki yet, dad?".

"It's still too soon, we sent the message just yesterday. It'll take a week for the message just to reach every kage. But Captain Yamato's been informed and he's on the lookout. We'll know soon if Mitsuki goes back to Orochimaru.", Naruto replied.

Boruto dropped his head and continued eating his dinner quietly.

"So how was work, Naruto-kun?", Asked Hinata, changing the subject.

Glad someone had brought it up, Naruto jumped to reply. "Boring as hell! And a lot of it too...", He said heartfeltly

"Don't put too much pressure on yourself. Take a break every now and then.", Hinata said, concerned.

"I wish i could just leave the paperwork to someone else but apparently how someone brought a cat down from a tree is 'Top secret' and 'For the hokage's eyes only'. ", He mocked. The family continued to speak and joke around until they finished their dinner. Everyone except for Boruto.

Naruto and Hinata cuddled by the TV and Himawari and Boruto went to their rooms. "I'm sorry I'm always away, y'know. I thought being hokage meant I'd spend more time with everyone. Turns out it was the opposite.", Naruto whispered gently, while holding Hinata in his embrace.

"It's okay, Naruto-kun. You always sacrifice yourself for the village and everyone knows it and they love you for it.", Hinata giggled. "They even swore by your name in the market the other day.", she continued laughing while imitating what she had heard.

"Oh, really?", Naruto laughed along with her, pleasantly surprised. "Huh...", he went in deep thought until Hinata said, "Everyone is here for you. You shouldn't do everything by yourself." pressing her head against his chest.

"Yeah, you're right. I don't spend nearly enough time with everyone.", Naruto said has he rested a hand on Hinata's shoulder. " You know what? I'll visit Kakashi-sensei, maybe he'll find a way to keep things going without me for a little bit.", he continued, excited by the decision.

"You do that.", Hinata smiled, seeing the slacking child in Naruto coming out.

An hour passed and it was 7 PM, when Kakashi usually went home. "Alright, I'm off. Cya Hinata!", Naruto said.

"Goodbye, Naruto-kun. Don't stay out too late. It's dangerous.", Hinata called back.

Naruto left laughing. "She's actually worried about me being out at night.", He giggled as he walked. while still wearing his orange sweater and pajamas he walked the streets to Kakashi's house. While some of the villagers turned their heads at the sight of the hokage walking around in such casual attire Naruto felt comfortable around them and didn't feel the need to dress up for them and keep appearances all the time. He genuinely thought of everyone as his family.

He reached Kakashi's house and knocked loudly on the door. "Kakashi-sensei!", Naruto called out. "Kakashi-sensei! It's me, Naruto!", He knocked again, more violently. He always acted childishly around Kakashi. "I'm coming, I'm coming. Sheesh. You're going to break the door one of these days.", Kakashi could be heard grumbling as he approached the door.

"Hey!", Naruto said with excitement as Kakashi opened the door, his ninja vest on the table. "Naruto? Did something happen again?", He asked, his voice scruffy as if he had just awoken. He probably had, spending most of the day at the hot springs. "It's... It's just that... I was wondering if you'd come by my house for lunch? Hinata's made beef stew and we thought we'd invite you over so...", Naruto asked uncomfortably.

It was actually the first time he had invited Kakashi over to his house since Hima's birth. Kakashi was caught off guard and his eyes grew wide in surprise, his expression underneath his mask indiscernible. He certainly wasn't expecting an invitation for lunch. He realized right away that something was out of the ordinary. "I-is everything alright?", He asked, starting to get nervous.

"No no it's just that-", Naruto was about to tell him what he wanted to ask but decided it'd be better to leave it until he came over and continued, "-I realized you've been helping me out so much lately so i thought I should thank you properly. Besides, You're like an uncle to the kids, they want to see you too every now and then."

"Don't you have work to do, Naruto?", Kakashi asked skeptically. He knew Naruto all too well and had already guessed what he might have been planning.

"Yeah, well,uh...It's okay, so don't worry about it. So, will you come?", Naruto answered nervously.

Kakashi thought it through for a moment. "Hmm...Alright, i suppose i couldn't turn down an invitation from the seventh hokage.", He said, a smile imaginable underneath his mask.

"Thanks! It'll be ready by noon, so don't be late!", Naruto said happily as he took off. "Yeah.", Kakashi mumbled at where Naruto was before he ran off. He went back inside awkwardly, thinking what Naruto could have wanted and what he was going to do. He wasn't eager to sit back behind that desk again. Naruto was the hokage now after all...And Kakashi was getting old.

Naruto returned home. and Spent the rest of the night with Hinata, sitting on the couch and chatting until it was time to sleep. Hinata Changed as Naruto brushed his teeth and as he was about to get in bed, he noticed the doll he had of Kakashi that he always placed next to his bed was gone. "Huh? Hinata?", He called out. "Yes?", "Have you seen the pillow i had of kakashi-sensei? I always put it right here.", Naruto asked. "Oh, you mean that giant doll?", She answered with a giggle. "Hima took it a few days ago to play with it. It should be in her room. "Oh, okay.", Naruto said, relieved, as he got in bed. "Goodnight.", He said as he turned off the light. "Goodnight, Naruto-kun.".

Naruto woke just as the sun had begun to rise, still too early since he planned to take the day off but it became a habit. Everyone else was still asleep. "Maybe I'll cook breakfast today." , He thought to himself while looking over to Hinata who was still fast asleep.

"Man oh man", He said, scratching his head as he looked at the fridge with confusion, thinking about what he could make. It had been years since he had cooked. "Sausages? Hmm... no, too heavy for the kids. Cheese maybe? But Hima is allergic... Beans? But for breakfast? No, that won't do either...", He stared undecidedly at the assortment of ingredients. "What does Hinata always make?", He asked himself before realizing he didn't know... "Maybe I'll just make eggs. Yeah, that's good.", He thought to himself as he put out a few eggs. "But just eggs? The kids need to grow. Maybe some sausages wouldn't hurt...", he giggled as he snuck out a few sausages aswell. "Might as well go all out now that I'm making it.", he thought, bringing out the beans too. "And ofcourse some mushrooms to go with the beans...And tomato paste to give it some color. And ofcourse seasonings, and...", he continued, fetching one ingredient after the other and before he knew it the counter was filled with everything he had put out.

"T-this might be a bit much...", he thought to himself as he looked at the enormous pile he had created with all the ingredients. "Oh well, it's not every day i get to cook for everyone.", He thought, rolling up his sleeves. "Alright! Now where's the pan?", he searched one cabinet after another. "Now some oil... and in go the sausages.", he said aloud as he dropped them in whole. "Now where'd i put the mushrooms?", he dug through everything and pulled out the bag of mushrooms. One after the other he began chopping everything up and throwing them in a separate pot or pan, mixing everything he thought would go well with eachother. After half an hour he had just managed to sort everything out and left them to cook but then the whiff of burnt sausages reached his nose. "Oh no, not good!", he thought as he rolled them over in the pan, one side burnt black and the other still raw. As he sorted out the Sausages, he noticed the mushrooms had begun to sizzle too and he jumped over to them, then the eggs and one after the other he ruined everything he was cooking until Hinata walked in, rubbing her eyes, still half asleep. "Naruto-kun?", she said, watching Naruto cooking frantically.

"Hinata! Quick! Watch the beans!", he cried out. "W-what are you doing?", She asked, slowly walking up to him. She gasped when she saw all that Naruto was trying to cook and all the ingredients he had ruined. It was then that sleep completely left her eyes as she ran over and pushed Naruto aside, turning down the heat on everything and shuffling them over, noticing everything was either half burnt or raw. It'd make a disgusting meal. "So much food...wasted...", she said, dejected. "I-I'm sorry, Hinata. It's just.. I-I thought I'd cook for you guys and-", Naruto explained nervously as Hinata looked at him impatiently. She sighed and hugged Naruto.

"Leave this to me, okay? You go and buy everything you wasted. The kids will be up soon.", She said, unable to get mad at Naruto with those puppy eyes he made. As Naruto left for the market feeling defeated, Hinata opened the window with a sigh and began cleaning out all the pots and pans then rinsed them and tried to salvage what she could of the food and make something out of them. Though despite all that she couldn't help but smile at Naruto trying to cook for all of them and laugh at how badly he did it. She smiled and shook her head, before going to wash her face as everything slowly cooked.

The kids eventually woke up and sat by the table downstairs, waiting for breakfast to be ready. Boruto was still gloomy and Himawari barely awake. "I'm home!", Naruto shouted as he flung open the door, walking in barely managing to hold everything he had bought with both hands... and a leg.

Boruto and Himawari both ran over, eyes wide and mouth open in surprise. They thought Naruto had long since left for work. "Dad? What are you doing here?", Boruto asked.

"Quit talking and help me with this, y'know!", He called out.

Boruto and Himawari both ran over and carried as much as they could, taking it to the kitchen. "Welcome home!", Hinata said kindly. "Did you get everything?", She asked. "Yeah!", Naruto replied.

"Aren't you supposed to be at the office,dad?", Boruto asked, still surprised. "I've decided to take a few days off from work... hopefully. I just hope i can find someone to fill in for me.", He explained. Boruto's mood was uplifted by the news. He walked up and grabbed Naruto's hand, pulling him to the table and sitting him down. "Then sit here. Breakfast is almost ready.", He said, pouting but happy inside. "O-okay!", Naruto said joyfully as he sat down. He had realized what a rare occasion it was for him to actually sit down and have breakfast with his family and how the pressure of his job had gotten to him. Himawari ran over and pulled back a chair, sitting next to Naruto, hugging his arm. Boruto sat on the other side of the table and looked at the two of them, then to Hinata. He couldn't help but crack a smile. "Breakfast is ready!", Hinata said joyfully as she placed everything on the table. "Thanks for the meal!", the other three said and began eating.

"So this is what you make for breakfast. It's tasty!", Naruto said with his mouth full. Hinata laughed and nodded. "I wonder when we should enroll Hima for the academy. With her Byakugan already activated she's going to be the envy of everyone.", Boruto said smiling at Himawari as she ate. "She'll graduate in no time.", Naruto added. "Maybe next year. It's still too soon.", Hinata smiled. "Hey, Boruto, do you want to train today? You can show me what you've learned.", Naruto said, turning to Boruto who welcomed the offer. "Sure, old man!", He replied. "Good! You don't have any missions today, do you?", Naruto asked. "As if. Big bro Konohamaru has been looking for a mission for a while but there's nothing to do.", he replied. "Yeah, that's true...", Naruto said.

Hours passed and the sun reached it's height. The hokage's chair was still empty and paperwork kept piling. Hinata had almost finished cooking the meal and the kids were seated at the table as Naruto paced around nervously, occasionally peeking out the window in anticipation. Kakashi was late, as usual. Just as Naruto thought to go and find him someone knocked. Naruto pounced on the door. "Kakashi-Sensei!", He said with joy and excitement. "Hey.", Kakashi greeted him with his calm and casual voice, handing Naruto a box of chocolates as a gift. "Hehee thanks! Come in, come in! Lunch is almost ready", Naruto beckoned with a grin as Kakashi took off his shoes and walked inside. "Right this way.", He guided Kakashi through the hallway and into the dining room where the children were seated and Hinata was preparing the food. When Kakashi saw the sight his heart melted. The warm atmosphere of the family, the affection, and how much everyone had grown... He couldn't help but crack a smile underneath his mask. Such a family was something he never had and to see one of his students grow up so much, he felt like he was visiting his son and grandchildren.

"Hm?", Himawari reared her head, looking at Kakashi with surprise and curiosity. She wasn't used to seeing him and hardly recognized him.

"Old man Kakashi!", Boruto said, jumping off his seat and running up to him.

"Welcome, Kakashi-sensei!", Hinata called out as she prepared the dishes.

"Come on already!", Naruto grabbed Kakashi's hand before he could say anything and sat him at the head of the table.

"Hey, Boruto! Be polite!", Naruto scolded his son for calling Kakashi 'old man'.

"It's fine.", Kakashi laughed. Something he didn't do often. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a lolipop. "Here, Hima. I thought you'd like these.", He said as he presented it to her kindly.

"Thank you!", She said as she took it with both hands and began unwrapping it. Kakashi's smile could be seen from his eyes.

"Geez, even your younger sister is more well-mannered than you.", Naruto said light-heartedly as he sat down next to Boruto.

"Like father like son.", Kakashi shrugged.

"Lunch is ready!", Hinata called out as she brought the bowls of beef stew to the table. "Hima, leave the lolipop for after lunch, okay?", She said when she noticed the lolipop in Himawari's mouth. Hima hesitated but with a stern look from her mother she was intimidated enough to put it back in it's wrapping and put it aside.

"It's good to see Naruto's eating well now.", Kakashi said as he looked at the food in front of him.

"When he comes home anyway.", Boruto whispered. Everyone pretended they didn't hear anything but Kakashi looked over to Naruto who was trying to play it off nervously.

Naruto got up and helped Hinata with the rest of the bowls. "Well, let's eat! Thanks for the meal!", he said once everyone had sat down.

"Thanks for the meal.", Kakashi said as he picked up his chopsticks.

"What does he look like under that mask anyway?", Boruto wondered with the same curiosity his dad once had, inconspicuously looking at Kakashi from the corner of his eyes but the others had already begun eating without paying it much attention.

Kakashi noticed Boruto's curiosity and decided to play a little prank on him. He put down his chopsticks and slowly put his hand on his mask. Boruto became more curious the longer it dragged on. Suddenly, Kakashi froze in place. "...Old man Kakashi?", Boruto said after a long pause, turning his head to look at where Kakashi was sitting. Suddenly, with a poof of smoke, that Kakashi disappeared the real one appeared behind Boruto, without his mask. "Looking for me?", he said calmly. "Aaaah!", Boruto yelled, almost falling off his seat. Naruto and Hinata couldn't hold in their laughter anymore and with them, neither could Himawari. "Just like your father.", Kakashi sighed as he sat back down. "So that's what he looks like.", Boruto thought to himself as the others continued laughing and Kakashi began eating his meal.

"Hey, old man Kakashi!", Boruto called out.

"Hm? What is it?", he replied.

"Why do you always hide your face?", he asked.

"Well, it does have it's benifits.", Kakashi replied, unwilling to give a complete explanation.

"I suppose it does.", Boruto thought to himself and pried no further.

Some minutes passed and everyone continued eating their lunch over light hearted conversation. Kakashi was enjoying himself quite a bit but eventually he decided it was time to figure out what the invitation was all about.

"So Naruto, What's going on? Why aren't you at work?", he asked. With that question, the light mood suddenly faded. Naruto sighed, reluctant to ask anything of Kakashi but he knew he had no other choice.

"I suppose you've already figured it out, huh Kakashi-sensei?", he said with a sad tone.

"I could take a guess or two.", Kakashi replied with an expressionless face.

Naruto remained silent. When it came to it, he couldn't bring himself to ask anything after all. He began shaking in frustration and soon that frustration turned to anger. Kakashi looked at him intently. Finally, after a long pause, Naruto broke the silence and said, "What do i do, Kakashi-sensei? ... I can't stand the sight of that desk anymore!". He slammed a hand on the table, shaking the bowls. "I became hokage so i could be around everyone but instead I'm holed up all day like some sort of criminal!", Anger, frustration, and desperation were appearant in his voice. Himawari and Boruto froze and just stared at Naruto, shocked to see for the first time how much he resented his job. The weight of guilt suddenly fell on Boruto especially, who had given his father so much grief over something he had no control on. Hinata looked at both Naruto and the kids with concerned eyes. She was afraid this happy event was about to be ruined.

"I'm sorry", Naruto said as he hugged Himawari and lowered his voice, tears of regret circling in his eyes.

"Naruto-", Kakashi tried to say something but before he could, Naruto interrupted him, "You want to tell me this is my duty? That everyone is relying on me to do it? Well to hell with it! When did i become a paper pusher?!", Naruto said as he stood up and decided to go outside to get some fresh air and cool down. He picked up his hokage mantle which he had hung on the wall. "I'm sorry.", He said and left the house. "Leave him to me.", Kakashi said and went after him.

"Naruto!", Kakashi called out. Naruto was sitting on the porch, holding the mantle in his hand, reading the inscription behind. "Lord seventh... Like hell! More like deskman seventh!", he shouted as he threw it away. The wind carried it and it landed a few meters away. Kakashi stood next to him but said nothing. Remembering the effort Sarada and Sakura put into cleaning it for him, Naruto felt guilty ruining it again so he got up and retrieved it before sitting down on the porch again. "Damn it all.", He mumbled under his breath. Silence took over again. With a gust of wind, the sound of the rustling of leaves could be heard.

"Do you really regret becoming hokage?", Kakashi asked after a long pause, not knowing the answer to his question himself.

Naruto contemplated that question for what felt like an eternity. "No...", he eventually replied. "...But If this is what a Hokage is, then i will change it."

"You'll have to speak with the daimyo but i doubt he will listen.", Kakashi sighed. "It's easier to just accept it for what it is."

"I'll make him listen. In fact, I'll go there right now!", Naruto said with determination as he stood and donned his mantle.

Kakashi sighed. "Naruto you can't just show up at the capital and demand an audience. You'll only make things worse. Ask for-", Kakashi tried to explain but before he could finish, Naruto, who wasn't hearing a word of it, turned and said with a smile, "Watch over things for me here, Kakashi-sensei. I won't be long."

"You're not going to lis-" Again, before he could finish, Naruto cloaked himself with his golden chakra. "Tell everyone I'll be back soon.", Naruto smiled over his shoulder at Kakashi and in an instant disappeared with a flash of golden light.

-III-


End file.
